Hexagram 49 changing to 55: Revolution to Abundance

Where it starts: 49 Revolution

The moulting of a skin: a necessary, well-timed change that is believed only once it is done. Fire below, lake above: fire and water in conflict, each trying to destroy the other, like two daughters who cannot share a house. Revolution describes fundamental change, the kind that cannot be reformed into existence and must be made. The tradition's judgement is careful: on your own day you are believed; supreme success; persistence furthers; remorse disappears. Change of this order is not trusted in advance. It is justified by being the right change at the right time, made by the right person, and it is believed afterwards. The reading says the old form has to go, and it insists on timing, preparation and legitimacy.

Where it goes: 55 Abundance

The sun at noon: abundance at its height, with the certainty that noon does not last and the instruction not to grieve about it. Fire below, thunder above: clarity and movement together, lightning and thunder at full strength. Abundance describes the peak, the moment of greatest fullness. The tradition's judgement is that the king attains abundance, that one should not be sad, and that one should be like the sun at midday. The greatness of the moment is real and so is its brevity. The reading says you are at or near a high point, that it should be used with clarity and decision while it lasts, and that the correct attitude toward its passing is not grief but light. The lines are strange, full of eclipses and curtains: even at noon, darkness can gather, and the hexagram asks you to keep seeing clearly through it.

The lines that move

1. Line 5

   The great person changes like a tiger. Even before questioning the oracle, he is believed.

   The leader whose change is so clear in its pattern, like the stripes of a tiger, that it needs no justification. The line describes revolution with complete clarity of purpose, recognised by everyone at once. Make the change so clearly that no one needs to be persuaded.

What is changing. The situation of Revolution is moving toward Abundance. Make the necessary change at the right time, with preparation and legitimacy, and expect to be believed afterwards. As the change completes: Use the height of abundance decisively and clearly, and do not grieve that noon will pass.

love and relationships

Now: Something between you has to change fundamentally, not be patched. Prepare it, time it, and do it for reasons the other person will recognise afterwards even if they do not in advance. Do not revolt in a temper. Then: A high point: fullness of feeling, of shared life. Enjoy it without sadness that it will change. The lines warn about the curtain that can darken even noon: suspicion and misunderstanding at the height of things. Keep seeing each other clearly.

career

Now: Radical change: a restructuring, a departure, a new direction that cannot be reached by adjustment. The reading supports it on conditions: the time must be ripe, the case must be sound, and you must be the right person to make it. Then: Peak influence and success. Use it decisively; the image is of judgements made and carried out while the light is strongest. Do not waste the noon in anxiety about the afternoon, and do not let the abundance isolate you from clear sight.

money

Now: A fundamental change of approach rather than a tweak. Make it once, deliberately, after preparation; a revolution made twice loses everyone's trust. Expect to be believed only when the results show. Then: Prosperity at its height. Make the decisions that require it now. Do not grieve in advance for its passing, and do not let fullness breed the complacency that the lines describe as a darkening at noon.

decisions

Now: The decision is for real change, and the reading asks three questions before you make it: is it necessary, is it timely, and are you the one to do it? If all three are yes, decide and do not look back. Then: Decide now, at the height of clarity and resources. The reading favours decisive action in abundance and warns against delay, because noon passes. Act like the sun at midday.